My duties as a journalist (work experience) today brought me to the town of High Wycombe, where I scurried after frantic members of the public, either too busy to acknowledge my existence or, very helpful and very informative.
Today’s topic was a new GCSE system which implements more exams, the abandonment of coursework & examined assessments and a new numerical grading system. At first, I hadn’t thought much about the issue. I’m way past GCSE level - it really has no influence on my life. Yet, speaking to people and discovering their views have made me think...
The government claim that the current GCSE system is beyond easy and does not stretch for the most able students. A new system will be implemented in 2017 to compete with the highest performing school systems demonstrated in Shanghai and Finland.
Views I unearthed from the public were “They change them every 3-4 years, it makes no difference.” “All this modular stuff makes no sense.” “University is so easy to get into.”
On the contrary people! It DOES make a difference. Yes it’s true that examination systems and curriculums are tweaked here and there but not to the point of extremism. This new system is too drastic and too hasty and if rushed, it could be a disaster (in my opinion)!
“Modular stuff” makes complete sense! As a university student myself, I am always sitting exams. Be it at the end of the year, or the end of term and even during the term. Wouldn’t modular exams help GCSE students to prepare for their future? Wouldn’t it keep them on their toes and help them prioritise time efficiently? Ok, perhaps modular exams are stress relieving, but it doesn’t make them anymore easier than end of year exams. It seems as though the government are shaming students for doing so well rather than celebrating their achievements and acknowledging the good efforts of the educational system.
University is not easy to get into! I speak from experience and have learnt that from even the brightest of people. I myself was rejected from three out of five of my universities at A level. And even after attaining the required grades for the university of my choice, I was still rejected! There are more students applying for university no doubt but the government should consider the economic situation at hand and realise how many students are choosing to opt out of university and take on apprenticeships and vocational courses.
Instead of using the educational system as a scapegoat and raising grade boundaries and making education harder, perhaps they should invest their time on decisions on more hand-on-hand training which prepares students for the real world.
It is true that a degree does come in handy for jobs such as Medicine or Law but Journalism requires the ability to write well. Anyone can sit their NCTJ with the right GCSE qualifications and write for a magazine or a newspaper. No degree is needed to start your own business. My father learnt his way through the business trade and has picked up the same knowledge that my brother is learning at A level.
Why won’t the government stop beating around the bush and start focusing on the real issues at hand? Beating the £9000 university fee or helping those less able to achieve good grades in high school, and even administering more for those leaving school at 16.
And with this, I leave for you a video which at 3:10 specifically meets my viewpoints need.
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